Patent records show that for the last century there has been a recognized need for a garment-like system for supporting a shield in the perineal region of the human pelvis.
It has long been known that a successful suspension system for perineal shields would be comfortable to wear, remain reliably in place, be adjustable to a large number of body shapes and positions, and be discreet and inconspicuous in use.
Over the last century there have been numerous attempts to provide both adjustable and self adjusting suspension systems for perineal shields. The failure of these attempts is witnessed by the absence of a commercially successful self adjusting suspension system for perineal shields on the market today.
In recent times, the use of contact adhesive as a fastener has permitted the attachment of sanitary napkins to undergarments and the "fitting" of diapers to a variety of baby anatomies. The advent of these expedients lessened, for a period of time, the need for a self adjusting suspension system. The appearance in the 1970's of disposable shields for use in dealing with urinary incontinence has renewed the search for a better suspension system for perineal shields.
Currently, technologies borrowed from the sanitary napkin, diaper and undergarment arts are used as expedients for supporting perineal shields which serve the needs of those having urinary incontinence problems that are moderate to severe in character.
The use of elastic elements as components of perineal shields and of suspension systems for perineal shields in common in the art. Elastic provides accommodation over a range of dimensions and configurations. This accommodation is often accompanied by changes in pressures and fits and with an attendant change in the comfort and reliability of the unit.
Heretofore, elastic waist bands have been secured to perineal shields at points or along lines at the corners of the shields. Such attachments create tension stresses in the midspan of the shield. Such stresses add to product discomfort and unreliability and are counterproductive in creating and maintaining reservoirs for retaining free liquids until they can be absorbed.
The related patented art of which the inventor is aware is as follows:
______________________________________ PATENT NO. INVENTOR DATE ______________________________________ 765,074 Griffith July 12, 1904 867,091 Altermatt September 24, 1907 929,166 Plamondon July 27, 1909 979,730 Argo December 27, 1910 1,103,815 Nesgood July 14, 1914 1,159,362 Cornell November 9, 1915 1,182,007 Glaser May 9, 1916 1,329,195 Martinka Janurary 27, 1920 1,616,616 Friedman Feburary 8, 1927 2,211,137 Lesselbaum August 13, 1940 3,993,074 Murray et al November 23, 1976 4,182,334 Johnson Janurary 8, 1980 ______________________________________
All of the above patent references teach the combination of a perineal shield and a suspension system which involve a component that passes between the legs of a wearer and a component that circles all or a part of the lower torso.
All of the reference patents except Friedman and Glaser teach the combination of a suspension system and a shield wherein the shield is separable from the suspension system.
All of the above cited reference patents teach suspension systems that provide a means for applying tensioning forces to a shield and a means for securement of the units around the lower torso of a wearer. The instant invention shares the above described attributes with the prior art.
All of the above references except Martinka, Nesgood, Griffith, and Friedman, teach combination of shields and suspension systems wherein a strand is slidably engaged with a follower element whereby the tensions in the waist element are related to the tensions applied to the shield element. The suspension system of this invention shares these characteristics with the prior art.
A novel feature of the instant invention is that it incorporates into the structure of a perineal shield a means for maintaining a substantially uniform tension around the perimeter of the perineal shield without applying any significant tensions to the midspan of the shield. This feature is of great importance in the containment of rapidly accumulating volumes of urine which are present during an incontinent discharge or urine of moderate to severe character.